A few months back I read that Calgary surpassed Ottawa in population and became Canada’s third largest city with a population of 1.4 million people.

It’s hard to believe that when I first moved to Calgary in 1990, its population was 625,000. It was a different city then. People said hello, people who you’d never met actually said hello to you on the street, in the parks, in the malls. It seemed a friendlier place back then. There was a real sense of community – it was a city with a village feel and I felt safe, even in the wee hours of the night.

Calgary has grown quite a bit since then, having more than doubled its population. And it feels different, it feels colder somehow. People don’t say hello like they used to. They seem more caught up with their electronics; cell phones glued to the sides of their faces or held out up front while chasing down Pokémon, earbuds embedded deep into their heads while they blow by you, barely noticing you on the street, in the parks, in the malls.

People just seem to care less…

at least that’s the impression I had up until early Saturday morning when I got a call from my landlord. It turned out that my neighbor across the hall interrupted a would-be thief while he was breaking into my car. Ron, my neighbor chased him off in the early hours of the morning and called the police.

Now I’m no stranger to having my car broken into.

I mean one comes to even expect it at some level when living in a big city. Over the years and after several break-ins, I have learned not to leave anything valuable in my car, so aside from having had to put all my highway emergency items that had been strewn around the trunk of my car back into the kit, and having to clean up my car manual, a few odd cassette tapes and my vehicle upkeep and maintenance papers from the seat and floor on the passenger side of my car and put them back into my glove box, I came away from this event virtually unscathed.

No, a car break-in doesn’t really cause a ripple in my world.

What really stands out to me is that Ron, the man who lives across the hall in my apartment building, was awoken when he heard clanging and banging from his bedroom window and went out into the parking lot to investigate. And this same man, Ron had the courage and took the time to protect my property – if that isn’t a good neighbor, I don’t know what is.

Maybe Calgary really isn’t all that different from back then after all.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Thanks Ron, for reminding me that there are still good people in this world, people who care about other people, even in big cities.

I don’t know Calgary, but I know what you mean about the quickening pace of life, and lifestyles that seem to leave less space for people. Small acts of kindness are important; and big ones – like your neighbour’s!

Maybe we have to remember how Calgarians tried to help one another during/after the 2013 flood…

A few wks. ago, a work colleague left her purse on the Calgary Transit train. When she got home, she realized she left her purse. Then she went to bed. Someone knocked loudly on her door. she didn’t answer it. But afterwards, she opened the door and found her purse.. Her ID had her address..for someone to return it.

I’ve had some amazing experiences when I lived in Toronto. Yes, there are awful behaviours and then some. I did leave my camera on subway train. The person turned into Lost and Found 2 stops later at TTC office. I was there within 15 min. after I realized my error.

Not saying we have to blindly trust everyone.. just sometimes there are more good people in big cities….like yourself. 🙂 I balance all this against occasional terrible stories of domestic abuse in isolated rural areas..where no one is around close to hear..

I was abit shocked recently, where in London, Ontario where I lived as as a university student over 30 years ago, is now a major sex trafficking hub in southern Ontario for U.S. and Toronto, Montreal.. It was reported just a few days ago. It’s a city that we rarely hear about in the national news at all…yet this stuff occurs there. But convenient, slightly away from the bigger cities.

It actually..doesn’t surprise me. The conservative, seemingly innocent façade, hides a lot..desperate lives or people misdirecting their energy /boredom in a completely destructive/negative way.

St. John’s, our capital city, has changed too, since I was a girl growing up there. I wouldn’t feel as safe these days walking alone at night. That being said, I still think there are plenty of good hearted folks, just like your neighbour. ❤️